SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850P: The New Official PS5 Storage Upgrade

SanDisk has released the Optimus GX PRO 850P, an official storage expansion drive for the PS5 and PS5 Pro. It comes in 1TB, 4TB, and 8TB sizes and reads data at up to 7,300 MB/s — among the fastest speeds the PS5's expansion slot can handle.

The drive fits into the PS5's M.2 slot (a thin internal expansion bay located inside the console) and includes a heatsink, a small cooling attachment designed specifically for the tight space Sony built into that slot. The "officially licensed" label means SanDisk tested this drive against Sony's own compatibility and performance requirements, not merely that it fits the physical shape.

How Fast Is It Really.

At 7,300 MB/s, the 850P hits the speed ceiling for the PS5's expansion slot. Sony's own internal drive, built into every PS5, runs at about 5,500 MB/s. So on paper, the SanDisk drive is noticeably faster. Whether you'll actually feel the difference while playing games depends almost entirely on how each individual game loads its assets — the drive itself can only provide the data as fast as the game asks for it.

The Storage Squeeze

The practical appeal here is capacity. The PS5 comes with roughly 667 GB of usable space after the operating system takes its cut. A typical new AAA game takes 100 GB or more. If you own even a modest library, you'll find yourself constantly deleting games to make room for new ones.

An 8TB expansion drive changes that equation. Eight terabytes means you can install eight large modern games and still have room left. For players who switch between multiple games regularly, that eliminates the download-delete-download cycle that currently eats time and bandwidth.

A Maturing Market

Console storage accessories are no longer the Wild West they were five years ago. When Sony first opened the PS5's expansion slot in 2021, buyers had to pick from a patchwork of unofficial drives with inconsistent performance and no guarantee they'd work properly. An officially licensed product from a manufacturer with decades of flash storage expertise reflects how far the market has matured.

It also shows how much storage prices have fallen. Offering an 8TB high-speed drive as a consumer product for gaming would have been economically risky just a few years back. That it's now possible suggests the economics of flash memory have shifted substantially in favor of larger capacities.

What's Missing

SanDisk has not yet announced pricing or a specific release date on the product page. For the 8TB model in particular, price will determine whether this drive makes sense compared to external USB storage options. USB drives are slower and require different setup, but they'll be cheaper. The math on which option makes sense for your wallet isn't clear until we see the numbers.

The datasheet published June 16, 2026 confirms the heatsink fits both the standard PS5 and the newer PS5 Pro without any adapters or modifications needed.